Papa Trickster
by Wynter Spite
Summary: After months of imprisonment on Asgard Loki has escaped to Earth, alone. But he does not stay that way for long. He soon finds himself with two disgustingly cute and devious children who will just not leave him alone. He has an 'obligation', they say. A 'responsibility', they say. Because they're 'small and helpless and cute', they say. What's a God of Mischief to do?
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I don't own the Avengers. Much to my dismay, they are beyond my reach. Which they would probably be grateful for.**

* * *

Loki tried to ignore the two children following along behind him.

Really, you save them from one abusive father and they latch onto you like a griffyn with mother issues.

He sighed at the sound of the younger one's, "Wait for me." He turned around to frown at them. "Why are you following me?"

The older girl, who looked about seven Earth years, looked up at him with large, solemn green eyes. "Because you saved us. We're your responsibility now."

The younger one nodded, holding onto the hand of her sister. She looked around five. "You have to help us."

Loki snorted. "What am I going to do with two human children?"

The little sister thought about it. "Take care of us?" she suggested.

"And why would I do that?" he asked silkily.

"Because we're small and helpless and cute," she said promptly.

Loki snorted and turned back around. He continued walking while they continued following. And though he didn't know it, that was the start of a long and lasting adoption.

(His, in fact.)

* * *

**A/N**

**It was the start of a beautiful friend- er, family.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I don't own the Avengers. But don't you just love Good!Loki? Or at least ModeratelyGood!Loki?**

* * *

After five months of imprisonment, a long and tedious period, he had escaped. it had now been a year since he had lived on Midgard. A year since meeting two children that just wouldn't go away.

He silently marveled.

It felt like longer.

He gazed down at the six-year-old that was standing in front of him, dripping water on the ground.

"I slipped."

He sighed. "Darling, you didn't simply slip. You plunged. Quite deliberately, might I add."

"The water nymps were taunting me," she exclaimed. "I had to defend my honor."

His lips twitched. "It's 'nymphs', dear."

"Oh. Well, they were taunting me."

He folded his arms across his chest. "Threw down a gauntlet, did they?"

Anita blinked wide, sky blue eyes up at him. "What's a gauntet?"

"It's like a glove," her sister, Annette, explained. "Except you don't slap anyone with it. You throw it on the ground to show that you challenge someone."

"To a duel?" Anita asked, intrigued.

"To the death," Annette confirmed.

"Wow," breathed the sweet, innocent child.

Loki, long used to this, rolled his eyes. He held out his hands for the children to grip. "Alright, time to go. We need to get you dry, Annie."

"Okay."

The two sisters held onto his hand as the Trickster led them away, to the apartment he was renting. He couldn't very well live on the streets, after all.

They passed by their neighbor, Mrs. Monroe, on their way to their apartment.

The older woman returned the nod the young man gave her and the smile the two girls offered.

Mrs. Monroe sighed. Such a pleasant young man, Mr. Deece was. He had very nice green eyes, though the mischievous light in them got her a little flustered sometimes. And such lovely little girls!

She thought wistfully of her nieces. She and her own Mr. Monroe had never managed to have children. And now it was too late. Although, that hadn't stopped the bedroom activities, she thought with an impish grin.

She went on happily sweeping the hallway.


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: Don't own. Don't even come close to owning. As likely to own as jumping off a building and being caught in the arms of a handsome, charming flying penguin with a fetish for polka-dotted socks worn by an Asian lumberjack.**

* * *

The day that Loki came home to an empty apartment, it was cool and sunny. Not a cloud in the bright blue sky. Birds were tweeting in the trees. There was a pleasant breeze. It was, all in all, a nice day.

Loki stared down at the note on the table.

_We know who you are. We've taken the girls._

_Don't do anything drastic. You have no one to turn to._

_Think back on that time three years ago and regret._

Loki picked up the note, looking down at it with unfathomable green eyes. Then he crushed it and burned it to ashes in his hand.

They, whoever 'they' were, had just enraged the wrong god.

He ignored the rest of the room, which was completely trashed, striding out of the apartment, filled with vengeance.

* * *

Annette sat on a bed in a sparse room next to her sister. She had an arm around her, Annie's wavy golden hair obscuring her face as she leaned into her sister, her face in her shoulder.

Anna reflected that Annie's gold hair was quite different from their father's, though she didn't consider him such. He had been blond. Their mother had had brown hair. They'd both had blue eyes, just like Annie. Maybe that was why he had resented Anna so much.

Her hair was red. Her eyes were green.

She didn't blame her mother for the possibility of straying. Her husband had not been a nice man. She was dead two years after Annie was born. Life after that was not pleasant.

But now there was the man who had taken care of them for the last two and a half years (Dad). He was so much more than she could have hoped for. Better than she'd ever dreamed.

And now she was proud of her green eyes, because they were like his. Proud of her curly red hair, because he combed his fingers through it like she was precious. Proud of herself. Proud of him.

Yes, she knew of him. The god who had come to Earth to rule it. That didn't matter. He no longer seemed to care about such things as ruling. When they'd first met ("Would you like me to kill him?") she'd had no idea what would come of it. But standing there, his arm outstretched, keeping Geoffrey on the ground without even touching him, sneering down at him like the man who had hurt them for so long was nothing, he'd seemed like the answer to her prayers.

"Don't worry," Annette murmured, holding her sister close, "Dad will come save us, just like he did before."

"Because he's a god." Annie's voice was muffled.

"Yes. And because he's our dad."

("Daddy . . ." Annie stopped. "Sorry."

Surprise, but then his face softened, God, so beautiful. "It's perfectly all right. Did you want something?"

"The room's too dark," she whispered.

He bent down to pick her up. "You want me to leave a light on?"

Annie buried her face in his shoulder. "Yes."

He noticed Anna, standing there. He shifted so that he was holding Annie up with one arm, offering his other hand to her. She took it. "Let's see what we can do, then."

At the bedroom, he didn't turn on the light. He lay Anita down in her bed and straightened up. "Let's see . . . light . . ." He snapped his fingers and turqouise stars suddenly flared to life all around the room. "Will this do?"

In the face of Annie's delight and his care, Anna could not help but love him.

Annie beamed up at him. "Yes." She snuggled into her blanket. As he leaned down to kiss her forehead, she said, "Good night, Daddy."

He paused, but ony for the briefest moment. "Good night, darling."

He then put Anna to bed, right across from Annie. "Good night," Anna said quietly.

"Good night."

"I love you, Dad." So soft, she nearly thought he wouldn't hear it. But there was a flash of white in the darkness, was he smiling?

"I love you. Daughter."

Definitely grinning.

He left, closing the door behind him, and she was left with a room full of stars.)


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I don't own the Avengers. Or Loki. Mr. and Mrs. Monroe are mine, though. And now my witty remarks are leaving me . . . oh, woe is me and my nonexistent Yorkie . . . especially my nonexistent Yorkie, because I named her Yankee and call her Hanky as some sort of weird nickname that prolly just reaffirms people's opinions of my disturbed mind . . .**

* * *

"Is your name even Monroe?" Loki muttered.

"Maybe," Mrs. Monroe said cheerfully, "maybe not."

"It's clear. Are you ready?" Mr. Monroe asked, his voice low.

"As I'll ever be." Mrs. Monroe grinned.

Loki rolled his eyes. "Let's just go."

* * *

_Earlier that day:_

* * *

Mrs. Monroe looked up at see her neighbor walking by with a truly frightening exression on his face. "Is something wrong, Mr. Deece?" she called.

He stopped to look at her. "Someone has taken Anna and Annie."

She gasped, a hand rising to her mouth. "Not such sweet girls! Do you know who?"

"No." His face darkened. "But I will find out." He started to go.

"Wait." Mrs. Monroe held up a hand for him to stop. She turned and called, "Bill!"

There was shuffling, and then Mr. Monroe stepped out of their apartment, his glasses perched on his nose, a crosswords puzzle still in his hand. He blinked owlishly at her. "What is it, Eloise? Is something the matter?"

"Mr. Deece's girls have been kidnapped," she said briskly.

"Oh, I say," he exclaimed. "Do you know who's done it?"

"No. But we will. You might want to get changed, dear. That sweater really is not appropriate for this occasion."

"Quite right, my dear." Mr. Monroe walked back into their apartment, apparently to 'get changed'.

"Just wait here, honey." Mrs. Monroe patted Loki's arm. "We'll be ready in the twitch of a cat's whisker!"

Loki stared as she walked inside her home, her gait no longer what would have previously been termed a 'waddle'.

It wasn't long before Mr. and Mrs. Monroe stepped back outside, dressed in formfitting clothes that would not hinder their movement. Gone was the shapeless sweater and the frumpy flowered dress.

It seemed Loki was not the only one who had been in disguise.

"Well, are you ready to go? Mr. Deceiver?" Mrs. Monroe looked at him with clear blue eyes. She did not look as old as she had before. "Yes, I know who you are. Will you be able to trace them?"

He eyed her, but getting Anna and Annie back was more important. "I should be. I get the feeling that they did not completely think through the kidnapping."

"Well, then, do your thing."

He did.


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: I don't own Avengers. My life holds no meaning. Except for being the most important in the whole wide world, contrary to my sister's sneering, disdainful opinion.**

* * *

There was the sound of an explosion.

Annette glanced up. "That's Dad."

Anita didn't bother. "Yup."

"Good thing."

"Uh-huh." Annie squirmed a little bit.

"Don't worry. He should be here in . . ." Anna held up her wrist as if checking a watch. "Right about now."

The door burst open. "Anna! Annie! Are you alright?" he demanded.

"Yeah. But I really, really have to go to the bathroom."

Loki's whole demeanor softened. "Come, then, sweet. Let us leave this place."

Anna pushed herself off of the bed. "'Bout time, Dad."

Annie looked up at him with relief and adoration. "Yes, please."

* * *

Fury sighed, rubbing his forehead with one hand. First there was an invasion of what seemed to be clumps of mass-producing fluff, led by one huge fuzzball with a crown sitting atop its fur, which Stark voiced a desire to adopt, then there was an explosion in one of the labs in which they lost Doctors Gilffrey and Laniggan (they weren't dead, just transported to a different plane of existence, it seemed) and now a group of S.H.I.E.L.D. agents had gone AWOL.

"Sir."

Fury wearily glanced up at the man standing in the doorway and hoped that there wasn't any more trouble, though that was unlikely. There was always trouble. "Agent Jaxx?"

"We've found the missing agents," the man said briskly. "You won't like it, sir."

_I never like it._ "What is it, Jaxx?"

"The agents were all either the people Loki took control of or friends of. They kidnapped a pair of children and held them hostage. The building they were using was destroyed quite enthusiastically, but we were able to secure a video footage of the room the kids were held in before they were rescued." He paused. "They were rescued by Loki, sir. They called him 'Dad'."

There was silence.

Then, "They what?"


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: I don't own the Avengers. I won't say anything about my obvious importance to the world, because my sister will probably go all Snape on me again. Well, ha. Joke's on you, sis. Not right now, but in the future, when you work for me and pander to my every need, joke's on you!**

* * *

Though S.H.I.E.L.D. searched, they never were able to find Loki and/or the kids.

Meanwhile, months after the kidnapping debacle, it was approaching Christmas, and the family consisting of two little girls and one Trickster were none the less for wear. They were, in fact, closer then they had ever been before.

So, Anna and Annie, being happy children, they did what little girls did after surviving a potentially terrifying experience.

They played.

* * *

Loki stood there, watching Anna and Annie play in amusement, until they noticed him.

The little one got up and went over to him, grabbing onto his hand. "Play with us." Anita pulled Loki into the middle of the room.

"All right. What are we playing?" he asked, bemused.

"Knights and Ladies with Dragons," she announced.

"I'm the Knight," Annette said.

Anita surveyed Loki. "You can't be the Lady, so you'll have to be the Dragon. You've abducted me, so Anna's going to have to rescue me. Ready?"

"When you are," Annette said.

"Action," Annie announced. She proceeded to swoon into Loki's arms. "Help, I've been taken by a ferocious dragon," she cried. "Oh, is there any brave knight who will save me?"

"Not to worry, fair maiden." Anna jumped up, pulling an imaginary sword from her side. "I am here. Unhand her, foul beast!"

"I will not." Loki pulled Annie close to him, making her giggle. He narrowed his eyes. "She's mine. I am going to make a truly delectable meal out of her. She is very full of protein, you know." He squeezed her gently.

Annie managed to tear her adoring eyes away from the Dragon. "Oh, help me from this terrible predicament, Sir Knight."

"Do not fear, my lady. I shall slay this beastie with ease. En garde!" Anna cried, slashing at Loki with her invisible weapon.

"Oh, dear. You've got me." He held onto his chest as he wheezed, "That was very well done of you." At Anna's look, he added, "I mean, curse you, awful knight. I will remember this."

Anna turned to the now free Annie. "You're free, my lady."

"I know. How can I ever repay you, Sir Knight?" she asked, batting her lashes.

"Give me all your lands and wealth," Anna said matter-of-factly.

"What?"

"This is a robbery. Give me your kingdom or die." She held up her non-corporeal sword threateningly.

"Oh, no!" Annie gasped. "You're not a knight, are you? You're a . . . a scoundrel! That Dragon wasn't really villainous, was he? He was guarding me from . . . you!" she accused.

"Yep. Was that a no?"

"I refuse to give you my kingdom!"

"Foolish woman. You have no choice. I am your illegitimate family relation. With your death, I inherit your every treasure." Anna pulled her arm back, then plunged her sword into the fair maiden. "Goodbye."

Annie gasped, falling to the ground. She turned her eyes on Loki, reaching out a hand. "Sir Dragon . . . forgive me . . ." Her hand dropped. ". . . ungh."

"Your kingdom is mine, princess. You should not have refused." Anna turned away.

Loki began to clap.

Annie got up and together, she and her sister bowed.

"This production was brought to you by Ann Studios," Anna stated. "If you wish to see more, go to .com. This website does not actually exist, but it is appreciated that you wish it did. Thank you. And good night."

Loki raised his eyebrows. That was new.

"Ann Productions, ladies and gentlemen," Annie exclaimed. "We'll be here all week!"

Anna nudged her, muttering, "It was Ann Studios."

"Oh. Hog's waddle," she cursed.

Loki wondered, What?

That night, after Loki put them both to bed, he lingered a moment.

The girls looked so innocent and young and . . . fragile to him, lying in bed, their bodies relaxed, breathing deep.

He bent down and softly kissed Anna's forehead, then Annie's. "Sleep sweetly, my dears."

As he began to pad out of the room, he paused when Annie shifted slightly, turning her head so that her cheek lay against her pillow. "Good night . . ." she mumbled, ". . . San . . . Francisco . . ."

Okay. That was weird.

Loki shook his head and finally left to go to sleep himself, letting the door stay open slightly.

All around the bedroom, turqouise stars twinkled.


End file.
